1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to girdles. More particular, the present invention relates to devices for supporting the trousers at the waistline of a wearer. Additionally, the present invention relates to girdle/trouser-supporting structures which are used to both compress the abdomen while, the same time, maintaining the trousers at a desired position at the waist of the wearer.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98
Lower garments, such as trousers, are traditionally held up by the use of belts or suspenders. Belts typically insert into belt loops to hold the trousers around the waist. The success of the belt depends on whether the wearer has a flat stomach. If the stomach is not flat, the extra weight from the stomach pushes the trousers down causing an unattractive drooping look. A trouser wearer will often begin wearing suspenders which attach to the lower garment and then over the upper garment using shoulder straps which adjust to keep the lower garment from dropping. For active and casual clothing wearers, the use of suspenders is not practical. One style of casual clothing is to wear the upper garment so that the bottom of the garment is worn over the lower garment, i.e. not tucked into the lower garment. Suspenders then have to be worn under the upper garment. This creates an inconvenience such that the wearer that has to take off his shirt when he needs to use a restroom for accessing the lower garment. Suspenders are considered “older persons” clothing and just do not match aesthetically when the upper garment is a Hawaiian shirt, a golf shirt, or a T-shirt. Additionally, such suspenders are not attractive when sweaters are worn over the trousers. Additionally, this type of clothing is often not used for sports and other leisure activities, since the wearing of suspenders hinders body movement and agility.
Studies show that most Americans are overweight. For many overweight Americans, the excess weight is visible because for a flabby stomach. Suspenders and belts do nothing to enhance the appearance of the wearer's stomach when the stomach extends over the lower garment. This frustrates the wearer's expectation of a healthy slim look.
The prior art for lower garment supports are belts and suspenders. The belt, when properly tightened, works well for many body shapes, but in the case of many other shapes of bodies, the lower garment slips down while going through the normal day's activities. Belts are worn normally to hold up the lower garment such as, for example, jeans, shorts, skirts and pants. The belt is inserted through a plurality of belt loops and works by exerting pressure on the waistband of the clothing as it presses against the body to achieve its ability to support the lower garment. The garment that is tucked in during normal daily activities will pull out of the lower garment. This is due to gravity. Gravity causes the lower garment to slip down from the original position at the waist. The person has to pull the clothing back up and re-tuck the upper garment back into the lower garment that has slipped down. During physical activities, the reoccurrence of the pull-up of the lower garment and the tucking of the upper garment happens more often. Typically, throughout the day, persons will repeatedly pull up the lower garment and re-tuck the upper garment.
In the past, various patents and patent publications have issued relating to trousers supports and girdle-type apparatus. As for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,127,896, issued on Apr. 7, 1964, describes a slacks and girdle combination that includes an inner girdle body and an outer slacks body each provided with a waistband and each provided with a side opening downwardly from the waistband. Complementary slide fasteners are carried by the sides. The slide fastener elements are carried by the girdle waistband longitudinally for engagement with the slacks.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,308,338, issued on Oct. 30, 2001 to A. H. Caldwell, discloses trouser suspenders for securing trousers at a predetermined position below the waist. The trouser suspenders have a waist strap designed to extend around the waist of a wearer. A first extender is attached to, and dependent from, the waist strap and the first extender has one fastener attached directly thereto. A second extender is attached to, and dependent from, the waist strap and the second extender has one fastener attached directly thereto. The fastener of the first extender and the fastener of the second extender are attached to the trousers.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,921,474, issued on Apr. 12, 2011 to E. A. Miller, discloses an inside belt that fits along the juncture of a person's stomach and thighs. The inner belt has first and second arches with a garment supported by the arch and the arch sized to offset the garment's waistline from the inner belt. Each arch has a front end and a rear end fastened to the inner belt. The front end of each arch is located so it fastens to the inner belt adjacent the user's crotch during use. The rear end of each arch is located so it fastens to the inner belt. A first loop extends from each arch, over the waistline, and a normal outer belt threads through the first loop and also through the normal belt loops on the garment. The outer belt supports the garment and the first loop and arches support the outer belt in a position offset from the inner belt.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,074,298, issued on Dec. 13, 2011 to I. Davenport, discloses a pants construction that includes an undergarment having a drawstring, an elastic band, or other securing mechanism on the waistband. The undergarment is attached to the inside of a pair of pants or shorts with a hook-and-loop type fastener, buttons, zippers, snaps, tie strings, temporary glue or the like. The attachment is concealed and is arranged such that at least some of the upper portion of the undergarment is revealed above substantially the entire circumference of the waistband of the pants. The waistband of the pants is below the waist of the wearer. A securing mechanism associated with the undergarment stabilizes the pants to prevent them from falling down.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0037371, published on Feb. 18, 2010 to G. F. Lewis, teaches a method and apparatus for securing a lower garment over a garment wearer's stomach to keep the lower garment from drooping without the need to secure the lower garment to an upper garment and without the need for a separate waist belt. An elastic belt with a hook-and-loop fastener is connected to suspender clips which are attached to the lower garment before the garment is worn. When the lower garment is worn, the garment is pulled up with the belt suspenders and secured over the stomach. When the wearer is comfortable, the hook-and-loop fastener is pressed together. The apparatus is designed to be worn under an upper garment that is not tucked into the lower garment.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2012/0052770, published on Mar. 1, 2012 to R. Bhojwani, describes a zip-in pant girdle worn by a user in combination with a pair of pants with an inside waistband to secure the pants to prevent the pants from sliding down and falling down. The girdle includes a base cloth band that is worn above the pants, a first upper portion that includes a distal end that is disposed on the bottom perimeter of the base cloth band and a second zipper portion that includes a distal end that is disposed within the inside waistband of the pants and corresponds with the first upper portion to form a zipper that removably secures the base cloth to the pants.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,601,615, issued on Dec. 10, 2013 to Isaacson et al., provides a shirt hold down undergarment. The undergarment includes a body and a first elongated loop attached to a front side of the body and configured to receive an attachment mechanism of a shirt hold-down device. The undergarment further includes a second elongated loop attached to a backside of the body and configured to receive an attachment mechanism of a shirt hold-down device.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2007/0033708, published on Feb. 15, 2007 to J. R. Mars, discloses strapless belt suspenders and a method of supporting the belt to support the lower garment and improve the appearance of the upper garment. In particular, the method and apparatus serves for to conjoin of the upper and lower garments to achieve additional support for the lower garment without the need for suspender straps. An adhesive rubber pad is attached to a durable waistband bracket that supports the belt which directly supports the belt loops which are attached to the waistband. Multiple strapless belt suspenders contribute to the support of the weight of the lower garment.
U.S. Patent Publication No. 2008/0172769, published on Jul. 24, 2008 to J. N. Herget, discloses a separate, transferable, attachable and removable stretch waistband device that is used to convert the use of a regular lower garment article into early stages up to full-term maternity use and for accommodation of any increase or decrease in waistline size. The expandable waistband is worn at the waist or hip region of the wearer and conforms to the changing shape of the wearer. The stretchable band temporarily attaches to the belt loops of an existing lower garment article that is transferable from one lower garment to another. Belt loop attachment mechanism stops consisting of fasteners are used to attach the waistband to the belt loops of an existing lower garment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a trousers supporting waist belt that effectively compresses the abdomen of the user so as to provide an attractive appearance.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a trousers supporting waist belt which effectively supports the trousers without the need for suspenders and/or belts.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a trousers supporting waist belt that is entirely concealed beneath the clothing of the wearer.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a trousers supporting waist belt that conforms to various sizes and shapes of wearers.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a trousers supporting waist belt that serves to maintain a pleasing tucked-in appearance between the upper garment and the lower garment.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a trousers supporting waist belt that is easy to apply and comfortable when in use.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the attached specification and appended claims.